


Happiness Comes With a Price

by bi_swan_trash



Category: The Sparrow
Genre: Gen, Near Future, Post Troubles, Supernatural Elements, the house theatre of chicago
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-22
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-04-27 13:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5050009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bi_swan_trash/pseuds/bi_swan_trash
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Charlie's parents are separated and he wants to go back to Spring Farm, IL to visit his mother in the town where it all happened six years ago. He finds a familiar face when he gets there.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Introducing Charlie

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic based off of the play "The Sparrow". It's not a widely known play, so if you'd like to look it up on The House Theatre of Chicago's website feel free! I was cast as Charlie McGuckin in the fall of 2013, so I thought his story needed a bit more exploring.

My name is Charlie. Charlie Peter McGuckin. I'm fifteen years old. From the outside, my life looks like that of a normal teenaged boy. I'm one of those rebellious, stupid types to those on the outside. But ever since we moved from Spring Farm, Illinois no one knows my story.

 

Before I was born, I had a sister. Her name was Sara Anne McGuckin. There aren't any pictures of her out anymore, but when I was younger I would sneak into my parents' bedroom and go through old photos. She looked a lot like my dad; dark chestnut hair against pale ivory skin with piercing blue eyes. Her cheeks were always in a natural blush in the photos. She was hardly ever frowning, even as a baby. My mother took only three first day of school photos of her though. One from kindergarten, one from first grade, and the last from second grade... my sister died in a collision between her school bus and an oncoming train that year.

 

_My first memory directly related to Sara was a family outing to her gravesite on her birthday. I was five years old. It was the first time I finally grasped what the deep-seeded sadness in our house was all about._

_"Why are we here, Mom?"_

_"We've been here before, Sweetie."_

_I crouched down to examine a rock with an inscription._

_"Sara Anne McGuckin," I looked to my parents, "is she related to us?" My dad took a deep breath._

_"She's your sister."_

_"How come I've never seen her?"_

_"She... died, Buddy."_

_I touched her gravestone as my mom started to cry into my dad's chest. I knew what death was, now. Just a few months ago my first pet rat, Snippy, died. My parents had comforted me, but they made sure that the concept of death was clear; once something is dead, it can never come back. At that moment, I knew Sara was never coming back._

 

_When I was seven, my dad finally agreed to teach me to ride a bike. We made the plan weeks in advance and every day leading to that one lesson my parents exchanged worried glances every time I brought it up. The day finally came and I was up early. My dad gave me a smile, but I could see the worry in his eyes. He took me to the park with his old bike that he had been fixing._

_"I'm scared."_

_"Don't worry, Buddy. I've got you."_

_"You won't let go?"_

_"Of course not."_

_"You promise?"_

_"Yes. I'll be with you every step of the way."_

_I was peddling... I was free! I looked back and my dad was millions of miles away. I was scared, but I knew by the smile on his face that he was proud. And so I continued on. Suddenly my dad was shouting something to me._

_"Back peddle, Bud!" I trusted him, so I did as he told me. The bike stopped and wobbled, so I kicked out a leg to stop myself from falling. My chest was heaving from the effort, but my dad was beaming with pride. He stooped down and hugged me close before pulling back and ruffling my hair._

_"That's my boy."_

 

_At nine, a strange girl lived in our house for three months. It turned out that she was one of my sister Sara's classmates... the only one to survive. By the end of her stay, we found out that she was the reason my sister was dead. Emily Book was a strange one, but after she left I couldn't stop thinking about her and neither could my mom. By the end of the year she and my dad separated. I was forced to choose. I broke my mom's heart, but I chose my dad. I was only ten when that choice was forced upon me._

 

Now I'm fifteen. Five years have passed since Emily visited Spring Farm and my world tore apart. My dad and I moved to Ohio and my mom stayed in Spring Farm. Dad promised I would visit her whenever he could spare the moment, but that isn't often, so I haven't seen my mom in three years. Yesterday I asked my dad for some money for the bus system and he seemed hesitant, but he finally agreed.

"You're old enough to go out on your own, Son. I trust you. Use the pay phone when you get to the Illinois station though, you hear?"

"I promise, Dad." I told him. Now, here I am... riding the train to Illinois. So I lied to him about how I was getting there. Big deal. Dad has always been apprehensive of trains and I know that if Mom ever found out that I'm riding one now she would flip, but it's faster than the bus.

 


	2. Spring Farm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie makes it back to Spring Farm. His mom is glad to see him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, it's not a super popular play, but if you're reading this, I hope you're enjoying it. :)

I don't know how long I was out, but I now find myself at the Illinois train station. I get off the train and check a map and the time. Mom isn't expecting me for another few hours and the bus station is only a few blocks away. I decide that I'll just walk home. I remember the way, after all. In half an hour I'm standing outside of my childhood house. I can't just open the door anymore, so I knock on the wooden frame.

"Just a minute," I hear my mom's voice. She swings open the door, "Charlie?"

"I know you weren't expecting me for awhile, but-" she cuts me off with a tight hug.

"No, no! That's alright! Come in, come in! Let me take those," she rushes on and on as she takes my bags. She reaches up and smoothes my hair, "it's getting a bit long, don't you think?" I smile. I knew she would notice. She stops just inside the living room and hugs me again, "I just can't believe you're really here." She's crying. I'm crying. I'm trying to man up and hide my tears, but I can't. The last time I was here we didn't stay long and the tense air was stale between my mom and dad so I hardly had time to register anything. We hug for a good five minutes before I pull back.

"I have to call dad," I say, "I promised him."

"Of course! He'll want to know you're safe," Mom rushes. I know she still cares for dad, but... everything is just too hard. I dial the number and he picks up in one ring.

"Hello?"

"Dad, it's Charlie," I tell him, "I'm with Mom, now."

"You- you are?" he stutters out, "you aren't due there for another few hours."

"Uhh, not a lot of traffic, I guess," I lie.

"Alright," he then sighs, "so, when are... when are you coming home?" I think about it.

"Right before school starts, maybe?" I say slowly. Dad is silent on the other end.

"Yes. That's sounds good... Buddy," he uses my old pet name.

"Thanks, Dad," I smile, "I'll call you every week. Bye."

"Bye, Son," he hangs up the phone. I hang up the phone and head to the kitchen.

"I was starting to fix dinner. I- um... I don't know what you like now, but I was going to fix pork chops. I know you used to like them, at least," she looks back down at the meat in her hands. I sidle up behind her and put my chin on her shoulder.

"As long as there's no corn for dinner, we're okay," I tell her. She laughs.. I knew this visit would be hard, but I didn't realize it would be this hard on the both of us, "is... is my room still upstairs?" She looks up and nods, sadly.

"I could only get to one room," she tells me with meaning. I have a small inkling as to what she means, but I refuse to believe it until I see it. I take my stuff up the stairs and set it by the door. I quietly open my old door. I take in my surroundings. Everything is basically untouched. I spot my old tomahawk I would pretend to be an Indian with. Further still I look. I breathe in sharply as I spot something that takes me back. I stoop down next to my old nightstand and pick it up. I examine it as I had all those years ago. It's not quite as shiny as it was, but it's still just as mysterious. It's the marble that Emily Book tried to give to me as a peace offering. I hadn't wanted it then, or when I found it directly after she left. But now... now it's a sign of the times before. I pocket it and trudge back down the stairs. Even though this was my house, it feels... cold. Like I could never be happy here. Not that I ever really was. Not that I ever will be... but I can't settle down. I restlessly walk around the main floor. I desperately want to look, but old childish rules hold me back. I lean my forehead against the cool wall just outside her door. I don't remember walking down this hall, but I'm here, now. Slowly, I nudge open the door. It's still a bedroom, but... it's no longer pink. The walls have been painted black and I see little stick on stars on the ceiling. The bedspread is yellow, which is quite a contrast to the walls, and the bed is more of a daybed... it's no longer the bed that Sara slept in. The cabinet that used to be full of Sara's clothes is newly stained and full of little odds and ends. There's a soft knock at the door and I whirl around.

"I..." I can't speak. My mom shakes her head.

"It's alright, Charlie. You're allowed in here. It's just a sewing room," she tells me.

"Only a sewing room..." I whisper to myself.

"Come on," Mom holds out a hand, "dinner's ready."

We sit in almost complete silence. Mom just looks at me every once in awhile. Dinner is halfway over before anything is said.

"So, how are... things?" she asks me.

"Things are... okay," I answer, "Dad and I have a system." It wasn't a lie. He drops me off at school and then goes to work. I skate home on my skateboard and Dad is home by eight. He never asks me about homework, but I always do it. I know Mom would have my head if I didn't.

"Good, good," she says, "are all the girls chasing you, or are they running from that hair of yours?" I freeze. Yes, I had a girlfriend once. But it'll stir up bad memories... for the both of us. I can't tell her here... not now.

"Oh... you know... more into school," I lie. She can see right through me and gives me a look.

"You can tell me, Charlie. You're father and I were there once," she tells me. I take a deep breath.

"Yeah, there was one girl, but we aren't together anymore," I give in, "and that's okay. We just weren't working." Mom nods. I specifically left out the her name... I dated a Sarah. 

"It happens. But you'll find someone," she smiles as she stands, "finished? I'll take that." She picks up my plate and carries it to the sink. She turns around slowly as if she just remembered something, "Charlie..."

"Yeah?" I ask. I have a sinking feelings, as if I forgot something.

"Wednesday is..." she turns back around, "never mind." I stand and go over to her.

"No, what is it?" I demand. I want her to say it.

"Wednesday is the anniversary," she says gently. I nod slowly.

"I'll go with you, Mom. Don't worry," I assure her. She nods. I envelope her into a hug. Her head only comes up to my chest; just like on my dad. She pulls back to look at me. She's still gripping my arms.

"When did you get so tall?" she asked, giving me a smile.

"About seventh grade," I answer honestly. She pats my shoulder.

"Well," she sobers up, "what would you like to do?" I think about it and realize I have no plan. I shrug.

"Whatever you would like to do," I tell her.

"There's a movie store just two blocks over. Do you remember where Shirley's Hat Store used to be? That's the building. You can pick up anything you'd like," she says. I take the money from her hand and start walking. When I get there, I rent "The Fugitive". When I get back to the house Mom has made popcorn and is setting up for the movie.

"It's an action movie," I tell her.

"Perfect," she says as she puts the movie in an sits down on the two person couch. She pats the space next to her as the commercials start.

The movie is thrilling and captivating. We have a great time, but before we know it, the movie's over and it's time for bed. "That was a great movie, Charlie. Thanks for picking it out," she says.

"No problem," I reply, "but I'm going to get ready for bed, now." We say goodnight and I head up the stairs to my old room. I change into my pajama pants, wash my face, and brush my teeth. Then, I walk across the hall to my old room. I'm a bit apprehensive about tonight, but I have to sleep so I'm alert for Wednesday.


	3. Faded Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. McGuckin tells Charlie a story of her past, stirring up old memories.

Soon, it's morning and like the stereotypical small town it is... there are birds chirping. I look around and remember that I'm in my childhood house. I push myself out of the bed and pad across the hall to the bathroom for a shower. By the time I'm finished, it's 9:30 in the morning. I go down to the main floor and peek into my mom's room. She's still asleep, so I decide to make her breakfast. I have just finished the toast when Mom walks into the kitchen.

"Charlie? I didn't expect you up so early," she admits. I shrug.

"I'm always up this early," I tell her.

"Really? Whatever for? These are your teenaged years," she says.

"It wastes daylight," I say, "you know, for skateboarding." I point to the beat up board I left at the front door, knowing it would be too dirty to put anywhere else. She gives me an impressed look.

"How'd you manage past your growth spurt? I remember when Albert got his growth spurt. He was so unusually awkward, he gave up skateboarding," Mom tells me.

"What? Dad was into skateboarding?" I ask.

"Oh yes. He always told his buddies he was going to go pro," she says as she laughs. I never knew that. They didn't talk much about their past. It was as if Sara's death was a barrier between the now and then. I decided to test the waters.

"Tell me something else about your past, while I make breakfast. Anything," I ask of her. She sits down and I can see her mind processing my request.

"Alright," she agrees, "but there's a condition." I raise an eyebrow.

"What kind of condition?" I ask.

"First, it has to be after breakfast," she ticks off her fingers, "second, you let me take you to the places I'm talking about." I'm stunned. She agreed. Not only that, but I'll be relieving it with her.

"Done," I say immediately. We eat quickly. I can tell that she's excited, too.

"Bring your board," she tells me, "you're going to want it." I grab my skateboard on the way out and we're off.

Mom takes me to the skatepark. It's deserted, but it's still in good shape.

"Whoa," I breathe, "this place is awesome."

"This is where I first saw your dad," Mom tells me, "right over there." She points to a bench in the corner.

"Why were you over there?" I ask. Mom laughs.

"Because Mrs. McGrath and I were watching all the boys," she says.

"Oh," I smile nervously. Do girls really do that?

"Yes," Mom sigh, "I finally worked up the nerve to ask Albert to teach me to skateboard."

"Wait, you skateboard?" I'm astonished.

"Oh, no!" Mom chuckles, "I was awful. But, Albert asked me to prom that year and that's what I had been working for."

"So, did you guys know you were going to get married?" I ask. Mom nods.

"That's how it was. That was my sophomore year. He's was a junior. We waited until I graduated high school before getting married," Mom says.

"Wow, that's early to know," I reply. I just can't imagine being with someone in high school and getting married to them.

"Well, we were young and in love. A bit of a cliché, I know, but again, that's how it was," Mom tells me. We sit there in silence for quite awhile.

"Why..." I stop. I can't do this. Mom sighs.

"Why did we separate?" she asks for me. I nod without looking her in the eye.

"There were a multitude of reasons..." she trails off, "oh, Charlie. I never wanted to leave your father. I still don't. But he thought it might be beneficial to... to take some time apart."

"What? Is- is that different from divorce?" I ask in astonishment.

"Well, in a sense. We're not officially divorced, but we didn't want to tell you get your hopes up in case we decided to follow through with it," she tells me. I stare at her.

"Why are you telling me this now, then?" I ask. She leans against the fence.

"Because... because I'm going to call your dad tonight," she admits. I take her hand.

"Good," I say, "because he misses you." She smiles and we decide to go to the movie theater. We decide on _Catching Fire_. The rest of the day passes quickly and soon it's the evening and Mom is apprehensive to pick up the phone.

"Just do it, Mom," I say gently, " he'll want to talk to you."

“Are you sure? Its been so long since we’ve properly spoken. Even on the phone,” she admits. I nod.

“I’ll leave you alone to talk,” I tell her as I grab my board and head outside before she can protest. I can only hope she still dials the phone, but I have demons of my own to conquer.


	4. The Book House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charlie visits the abandoned Book house.

I skate all the way to the train tracks near an old abandoned house. The Book house. The one where, six years ago Emily’s grandmother died and five years ago remained empty even though Emily returned. I stop just short of the yard. At first, I just stand there. I marvel at how intact the house still is despite the lack of tenants. I leave my board on the front porch. I slowly open the door and peek in. I don’t know what I was expecting. I know it’s supposed to be empty, but I feel like I can’t be too careful. I think back to when Emily’s grandmother was alive. She was always nice, especially to me since we didn’t live too far away. I remember being really shocked when my mom told me she had died. She was a young grandmother. She’d had Emily’s mom when she was sixteen and Emily’s mom wasn’t far behind when she had Emily at eighteen. She’d just turned fifty a few months before her death. It was a sudden heart attack that took her life. When I was nine and Emily came to live with us, I didn’t have the empathy to try and understand what it must’ve been like for her. But now, as I stand here in the very house she probably had the best memories in, I can feel the emotions welling up in my chest. I walk into the living room and then I notice something’s off. The dust has been disturbed on the floor. I shrug it off. Probably some other kids wanting to see the abandoned house. I can respect that. I walk a few more feet before I hear a rustling in the kitchen. Fear bubbles inside of me, but I having this strange feeling that I shouldn’t run. I inch closer, panic settling in. I tell myself that it’s probably someone else just checking the place out. I peer around the doorjamb and cannot believe my eyes. There’s a young woman with strawberry blonde hair in a braid down her back. She’s arranging flowers in a dusty vase on the bare table. She’s older, but I’d recognize her anywhere.

“Emily?” I call softly. She turns quickly, knocking over the vase. She catches it in an unusual, but familiar way. It hovers above the ground as she quickly stoops to grab it. She looks up in panic and then confusion.

“Charlie?” she replies. She replaces the vase onto the table and then turns back to me. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same question,” I shot at her. “I thought you left for good.” I shouldn’t be so defensive, but it’s such a surprise to see her.

“I have— I did! It’s just,” she pauses and sits in a folding chair she seems to have brought with her. “I come back and spend the night in my old house the night before the anniversary of the accident.” She scrubs her hands down her face. “I can’t get them to stop screaming. Screaming insults, screaming in general.” I look at her— really _look_ — and I see the same seventeen year old girl being chased by a mob of people, telling her to leave. Most of the town forgave her. Deep down, I even think we forgave her. I just think we didn’t forgive ourselves. Emily sure hasn’t forgiven herself. I walk over to her.

“Have you talked to anyone about it?” I ask. Sure she told us, but has she talked to someone who can help her through it? She shakes her head.

“I took Mr. Christopher’s ticket and ran. I didn’t really have any money, so I worked for anyone who would take me. I did odd jobs. I enrolled in a college last year. I was surprised my transcripts were even valid. It seems that Principal Skor slipped in a diploma into my records. I’m grateful for that,” she tells me. A shroud of silence settles around us.

“Why don’t you come to my mom’s house with me?” I offer. Emily looks at me with confusion.

“Your mom’s house?” she asks. I look at the floor.

“My parents separated after...” I don’t finish my sentence, but she understands.

“Oh. I’m so sorry,” she apologizes.

“It’s not your fault. Besides, they may be repairing things right now,” I say.

“Then I better not go,” she decides. “I don’t want to mess things up for you again.” I shake my head.

“You can’t go through this alone. Mom will understand,” I tell her.

“Will she?” she says sadly. “I highly doubt it, especially since tomorrow is the day.”

“I won’t take no for an answer,” I take her by the arm and pull her toward the door. She doesn’t resist and I know it’s because she wants to make things right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back Emily Book! Maybe third time's the charm for this girl?


	5. Redemption

It doesn’t take very long to get back. I signal to Emily to wait outside for a minute as I check to see what Mom is doing. When I look inside she’s sitting on the couch and I can tell she’s been crying.

“Mom?” I call. She looks up.

“Oh, Charlie,” she gets up and runs to hug me. “We’re going to give it a try. I’m going to move out to Ohio with you boys. Your father thinks it will be best if I left Spring Farm.” I beam at her.

“You mean it?” I ask astounded. She smiles back and nods vigorously.

“Yes. This time apart has been beneficial, but we both reached the conclusion that it would be best for all of us,” she tells me. I pause, remembering Emily on the front porch.

“I can think of another relationship that needs to be repaired,” I say. She gives me a look.

“Oh? What relationship?” she asks. I lead her to the front porch and there is Emily sitting on the porch swing. She stands immediately when she catches sight of us. “Em- Emily?”

“Mrs. McGuckin,” Emily says quietly as she stares at her feet. She looks up slowly. “I. I’m sorry for-” Mom cuts her off with a huge hug.

“Oh, Emily, I’m the one who should be apologizing,” she whispers into Emily’s ear. I can see the tears in Emily’s eyes as she buries her face further into Mom’s shoulder. Mom holds her tight to her chest as she would for me as a child. Emily pulls away slowly, wiping her eyes. “Why don’t you come inside? I’ll put on some tea.”

We go inside and Emily and I sit on the couch, while Mom goes to the kitchen.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Emily murmurs. I look at her and smile.

“I think this is long overdue,” I tell her. Mom comes back in and at first we sit in silence.

“So, Emily,” Mom starts, “what brings you back?”

“Um...” Emily fidgets before answering. “I come back the night before the anniversary of the accident.” There’s a sickening beat of silence before Mom breaks out into a smile.

“Albert will be here tomorrow. We can all go together to the cemetery.”

“He’s coming here?” I ask in shock. She hadn’t mentioned that before. She nods.

“We thought that it would be beneficial for the three of us to finally end this,” she looks to Emily. “It will be beneficial for the four of us.”

“Thank you for the tea,” Emily says. “Should I meet you back here in the morning?”

“You’re not going to go back to the abandoned house, are you?” I ask.

“What? Is that where you were going to stay?” Mom asks Emily. Emily nods. “Oh, Emily. You can stay here! You can stay in Charlie’s old room.”

“Where’s Charlie going to sleep?” Emily inquires.

“I can sleep on the couch,” I offer. I don’t want to force her to stay in Sara’s old room. That’s a cruel and unusual punishment. I can see relief wash over her.

“Thank you. That’s really kind of you,” Emily thanks us again.

We make up my old bed with clean sheets and we all go to bed. Tomorrow morning Dad will be here and we will make the last visit to the cemetery filled with grief.


	6. The Sparrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for everyone to say goodbye to old ghosts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all. I'm sorry it took this long to update. I'm uploading both chapters, since the last chapter is VERY short. Please enjoy. :)

We went to bed late last night, but I found myself awake at seven. Dad isn’t due to be here until nine, but I can’t go back to sleep. I get up and go into the kitchen to make breakfast and find Emily already awake and sipping a cup of tea.

“Couldn’t sleep?” I ask casually. She simply shakes her head. I put some toast in the toaster before sitting down next to her. We sit in silence for a bit.

“It’s amazing how much you’ve changed,” Emily says out of the blue.

“What?” I question.

“When I was here the last time you were... well... kind of just a mean little boy,” she looks at me straight in the eye this time. I can tell she’s being sincere, but she’s also not trying to be malicious. I look at my hands clasped in front of me.

“I was going through a lot. Mentally, that is. When you came to live with us, Sara had already been an icon in my life. An unattainable ideal that I could never live up to even though _I_ was the one who was going to live past second grade. And then you, perfect age, perfect gender walked into our house and I knew it was going to be worse. I had to fight for any attention I was given over a dead girl that I’d never even met. I did the math when I was younger. I knew I was the replacement child. I knew you were going to screw up what I had worked for and I hated you for it,” I put it all out on the table.

“Wow,” Emily breathes. “I had no idea. I just thought you were a bratty kid.” I quirked a smile.

“Well, I was that, too,” I tell her with a small laugh. The toasts pops up from the toaster. “You want some? I made four.”

“Sure, that sounds great,” she replies.

“What do you want on it? We have butter, grape jelly, strawberry jelly, peanut butter,” I list off.

“Butter and strawberry jelly sounds good. But I’ll only eat one. Breakfast has never been my thing,” she says shrugging.

“I’ll take the other one,” Mom says as she walking into the kitchen. “Just butter for me.” She pours herself a cup of tea and sits in an empty chair. “Albert won’t be in for a few more hours, you know.”

“We know,” Emily says, “but neither of us could sleep. And I’m guessing you can’t either.”

“No, but I’m guessing none of us were expecting to sleep much, were we?” Mom guesses. Her rhetorical question is met with silence.

The three of us get ready for the day and wait patiently for Dad to arrive. At about nine fifteen there’s a knock on the door.

“I’ll get it,” I say as I get up to answer the door.

“No, no, Charlie. It’s alright, I can get it,” Mom insists as she walks to the door. Emily and I both listen as Mom opens the door and Dad steps in. I get antsy and go to look around the corner. As soon as I do, I smile. I see Dad brought Mom flowers and when he gives them to her she kisses him. I wait until they are done before rushing over to them.

“Hey, bud! How’s it going?” Dad asks as he gives me a hug.

“Great! Glad you could come!” I reply.

“We ready to go?” Dad asks.

“Well, there’s someone who would like to go with us,” Mom tells him.

“Who?” Dad wonders. Just then, Emily comes out from the kitchen.

“Me,” she says.

“Emily,” Dad is taken aback. “I... glad to see you.” It’s Emily’s turn to be surprised. There is a tense silence before Emily gains the courage to throw her arms around Dad. He melts into it right away. “Well, I guess it’s time for us to go,” Dad says when they break apart.

We all get into the car and drive to the cemetery. When we get there, we can see quite a few other families there. It’s not a big surprise. We’re all there for the same reason. The four of go to the pale pink stone engraved with the name _Sara Anne McGuckin_. We stand around in silence for about five minutes.

“Can I- can I say something?” Emily questions.

“Yes, of course!” Mom answers. Emily softly clears her throat and steps forward.

“Six years ago I returned here to Spring Farm to formally apologize to the families I devastated. But, I never stopped to consider apologizing directly to the ones I took the future from. So here I am. I’m here to apologize for the excruciating pain and suffering I set upon anyone. I’m here to apologize for taking away everything you could have been. I’m just... so sorry.” Emily falls to her knees as she starts sobbing. Mom stoops down to comfort her.

“Sara would forgive you,” she tells Emily. “They all would.” Mom and Emily embrace. They stay like that for a good amount of time. When they finally pull away, Mom pulls out kleenex from her purse. “Here.”

“Thank you,” Emily says. Mom just nods as we head back to the car. As soon as we shut the doors, Dad turns to Mom.

“Should we say something now?” he asks. Mom doesn’t even hesitate.

“Yes, of course,” she says as she turns to face Emily. “Sweetie, Albert and I have been talking and we would like to know something very important. Charlie, you have a say in this too.” I perk up at this, eager to know what she has to say. “Albert and I would like to know if you would like to stay with us. We could help you go and pay for college if you wish.” Emily’s jaw drops.

“You- you mean it?” she asks in disbelief. Mom nods. Emily turns to me. “Charlie?” I break out into a grin.

“Of course,” I say.

“Then it’s settled,” Dad chimes in.

“Wait, where are we living?” I inquire.

“Your father and I have decided that we’re all going to move to Michigan. New scenery for everyone, yes?” Mom says.


	7. A Happy Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you it was short. <3

It was settled. We all moved up to Michigan and Emily continued to go to her college in Chicago.

After four years Emily and I both graduated. Her from college and me from high school. Emily then took the opportunity to move to Italy to be a teacher. From time to time, Mom and Dad would take trips to visit her.

Now? Now, she’s married to a local Italian man with two children. He knows about her telekinetic powers and she uses them carefully when she’s at home. As for me, I married my wife Anita and have a beautiful baby girl named Sara Emily. As for the future... it’s looking bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> P.S. WHO ARE YOU? Literally no one looks at this story and I have no choice, but to assume it's like... one person. Thanks for sticking with me, anonymous stranger. I hope you liked it. ^_^


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